Connor Cut; Ratliff, Scandrick, Bernadeau Restructured

IRVING, Texas – The Cowboys managed to get under the salary cap while holding onto linebacker Anthony Spencer, but it comes at the expense of linebacker Dan Connor.

In addition to releasing Connor, the Cowboys also restructured the deals of cornerback Orlando Scandrick, defensive tackle Jay Ratliff and guard Mackenzy Bernadeau in an effort to get under the cap before Tuesday's deadline.

Connor's release isn’t entirely surprising, considering the Cowboys were expected to ask him to take a pay cut or let him go. The linebacker competed with Bruce Carter for a starting job in the preseason, which Carter won outright.

Connor, who was signed through next season, finished with 57 combined tackles in 14 games in 2012.

Dallas sat nearly $7 million over the cap prior to the start of this week after restructuring deals for cornerback Brandon Carr, tight end Jason Witten, wide receiver Miles Austin, linebacker DeMarcus Ware and center Ryan Cook and giving the franchise tag to Spencer.

Keeping Spencer without extending quarterback Tony Romo initially seemed like an impossible endeavor, but the Cowboys figured out a way to complete the task while staying under the cap by the deadline. Extending Romo now becomes one of the premier objectives in order to stay active in free agency.